I've been playing drums for quite a bit now but never really got into double bass drumming.. recently got myself the Pacific double bass pedals and I find myself struggling quite a bit to keep a steady beat.. It's very frustrating, believe me! I feel like a newbie.. anyone have any advice for double bass technique? Some good books or sources.. arghh
yeah double bassing can be tricky at first but then it'll become second nature.. just like using 2 hands. keep at it, i suggest the encyclopedia of doouble bass drum
try not to lift your leg up.. play heel down as this will help you develop your legs better .. check out steve smiths DVD for drum technique.. he goes into detail about the heel/toe technique
feels like you're floating on the pedal.. i need to master this as well
double bass IMHO is what makes drum solos and such sound good and full.. therefore I think it's def a skill thats worthy of getting and working hard at..
i suggest not moving your leg up, practice heel down.. a lot of double bass is ankles, calves, feet, and toes
try to keep a steady beat and increase speed as you go along.. make sure the notes are even
don't you just love the burning sensations in your legs you get ?? haha at least you know you're getting faster every second
It was a long time ago that I started playing DBL bass and had only been playing for about a year at the time but I just strait started over with everything.
Just the easiest rythum you can play but instead of playing 2 beats with the right try playing right left.
another thing that I did was lay down a very slow but steady 8th note beat on the snare rim and and just play along with it with my feet and move on to 16th notes as well untill you can start keeping a beat on the HH and play the bass and snare together in a rythum.
It is going to take time but I swear it will be like open a new door into drumming once you get it down but its just going to take time and hard work but you will get it if you stick with it.
thanks for the tips guys.. will definitely keep at it.. i actually think it's my favorite drum part, the double bass line.. just sounds so cool
i picked up encyclopedia of double bass drumming published by modern drummer and found the info and excercises in their to be quite practical.. but still it's the drummer not the drum book, so I'll def work at it and keep you guys updated..
once you get a good beat going and a good speed just keep playing that till you cant go anymore... then you will build up stamina this is what i do so this is just a personal opinion... but hey it works for me!!
AHH, the burn, i've gotten to know the burn pretty well recently. The best advice for me on the double kick was to start off playing S-L-O-W. And with a metronome. Tapping the snare rim in time works well too. Someone suggested to me to try doing a paradiddle on the double kick, and that is something I'm probably going try the next time I can.
A couple of quick suggestions from a guy who's been playing double bass since 1960. Yeah a really OLD guy.
1. AT HOME ONLY-play all the bass drum parts with your left foot.
2. Learn to play the rudiments with your feet. (that will improve BOTH feet)
3. DO NOT over use double bass. You will kill the effect.
The hardest part of playing double bass is that your left foot does just about nothing all night, then suddenly it has to sound like a machine gun. Try using the left foot as part of the basic bass line. ie; a 4 stroke ruff or a triplet at the end of the 2nd measure of the pattern. Works especially well in slow 12/8 feel ballads. Or try it with a tune like "Blue On Black"
Linear Mode
